Reproductive Rights

Reproductive Rights

Texas has become a laboratory for bad ideas when it comes to reproductive rights. In recent years state lawmakers have passed some of the toughest anti-abortion measures in the country, essentially making the procedure almost inaccessible for many Texas women.

The Texas Freedom Network supports efforts to ensure women have access to abortion and other reproductive health care services. That access requires adequate state funding and broad availability of birth control, especially for low-income women.

So Zedler continues to promote a lie that the grand jury has already discredited. Moreover, his contempt for the law couldn’t be clearer. Zedler apparently has no problem with individuals who break the law in the promotion of a lie and political agenda that he supports. That’s the real disgrace, Rep. Zedler.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton also are promoting the same deceitful agenda. Both released statements on Monday (here and here) insisting that the state’s own “investigation” of Planned Parenthood will continue, facts be damned.

The religious right’s vicious and deceitful attack on Planned Parenthood — part of a long war on abortion and other other reproductive health care services for women — appears to be backfiring in a big way.

Planned Parenthood officials strongly denied the charges and pointed out that the videos had been edited in a way designed to smear and embarrass the organization. Moreover, they argued that the video makers used fake government IDs and made other false representations in order to get into private conference and health care clinics when making the videos.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office did launch an investigation, but it turns out that grand jurors in Houston appear to believe Planned Parenthood instead of the lies coming from anti-abortion fanatics.

A Harris County grand jury has declined to indict Planned Parenthood officials in Houston. Instead, the grand jury has handed down indictments against two people involved in making the videos. David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt were indicted on charges of tampering with a government document.… Read More

We told you over the holidays about Texas state Rep. Jonathan Stickland’s offensive “joke” about marital rape: “Rape is non existent in marriage, take what you want my friend!” Since then, Scott Braddock of the Austin-based political website Quorum Report has reported that Stickland, R-Fort Worth, is one of five Tea Partiers in the Texas House who voted last spring against legislation designed to make it easier to bring sexual predators to justice.

Stickland, and state Reps. Reps. Matt Rinaldi, Matt Schaefer, Tony Tinderholt, and Cecil Bell — all Republicans and Tea Party/religious-right heroes — voted against House Bill 189, which drops the statute of limitations in criminal sexual assault cases in which there is “probable cause that the defendant committed the same or similar crime against five or more victims.” It also extends the statute of limitations in civil cases against sex offenders. The bill passed with large majorities (just five “no” votes on the final bill), and Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law.

Braddock’s Dec. 31 article about the issue (behind a paywall) also notes that Rep. Schaefer’s chief of staff was recently arrested for soliciting a minor for sex. (We’ll note that the five Tea Partiers/religious-righters are also hardline “traditional values” lawmakers opposed… Read More

Rep conducted an informal poll of all 254 clerks in Texas. 49 responded, and 47 had NOT removed their names.
That big bill “protecting” religious liberty of county clerks was addressing a problem that doesn’t exist. #txlege

This committee has moved on to religious freedom issues. Interesting report from witness representing county clerks. The issue is marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples, and a bill allowing clerks to remove their names from licenses. #txlege

Creationism is not science.
Creationism is not science.
Creationism is not science.
Creationism is not science.
Creationism is not science.
Creationism is not science.
bit.ly/2EPwDgfpic.twitter.com/DYHB…

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